Write. Every day. A lot. Write what you'd want to read. Write what appeals to you and every once in a while for spice, write what you hate. Write in different voices, in different settings and for different audiences. And then, remember to write for yourself at the end of the day.

Read. Every day. A lot. Read what you'd like to write. Read whatever tickles your fancy, makes you laugh and cry and rage, and then every once in a while for spice, read something that's mostly crap, but widely marketable. Be concious while reading, so you know how something is written and how and why (and if) it works. And don't ignore the classics; people still read Hemingway for a reason. People read O'Conner and Shakespeare and Dostoevsky for a reason. Find out why. Remember to read for yourself as well, at the end of the day.

this place is perfect for the beginning
you decide the amount of work and a
great deal of ability comes with effort

anyway.. once you have some beginning ability down, some strong experience with exposition and suspenseful narrative, then you can go after a more formal slash non workshop approach
you can even apply using the knowledge you attain here via a story:
most schools generally want to see some of your ability before they take you on

and this place is much cheaper than the tens of thousands youd spend on a structured degree, which is i think perfect for the beginner
after hard work and some feelings hurting and some confidence built, you could then go for master feedback by attending a masters six-week program

to top it off, no one is going
to try and mold your writing

first lesson, though.. learn your grammar--i mean learn that shit
know the conflagrating difference between the use of “than and then” and “past and passed” and “because of and due to”, tense shift and pov slips, and afterward, learn when to use poor grammar to off set a character's poor speech
so much of the fundamentals can be learned here
so i say start here for six months and pull some heavy weight
then start paying the big bucks for the accreditation

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